There’s yet another story at CNet about the declining representation of women and non-Asian minorities in tech jobs in the U.S.. Well duh, tech jobs have been flying overseas for the last several years. When the massive bloodletting of outsourcing began, it was very likely women, minorities, and older tech workers who lost their jobs first. In an interesting twist, in Illinois at least, the age discrimination laws essentially require that a mix of employees be laid off along with older workers in order to avoid trouble. So as long as the workers with less seniority (and in jobs more likely to be outsourced, like coding) were getting the axe anyway, they decided to unload the higher salaried older tech workers as well.
The thing I continue to find interesting about stories like this, is their failure to state the obvious question. Why should women and minorities pursue career fields that at present appear to have little future? The big corporations are really not interested in developing talent here at home when they can get something that is at least good enough overseas for far less money. Being an American is a liability these days in tech because it means you cost more than most companies want to pay. Even if you took no salary, paying for benefits still makes you more costly than a worker in India or China. I won’t be telling black kids to go into jobs that won’t be there once they finish school. I’ll be telling them to use their talents to start their own companies rather than work for companies that are ultimately not interested in the well being of their workers or their country.